coldandpale:

Ivanovo detstvo/Ivan’s Childhood (1962, Andrei Tarkovsky)

The complexly choreographed sequence involving Masha’s encounter with Kholin in the birch forest is one of the most iconic shots in cinema, symbolizing the need for help in hard times, a moment of connection above the void, a desperate act of human contact. The camera tracks their movements at a distance before joining them, finally, in a strange, low-angle embrace over a small trench. The shot begins from a low point of view, and then, when Masha tries to jump over the ditch and is intercepted by Kholin, who holds her in the air and kisses her, the camera goes down below ground level and records the scene from within the ditch, to soon thereafter rise sharply up and continue rolling at eye level with the characters.  (1, 2)